Framework for modulating ambulatory load in the context of in vivo mechanosensitivity of articular cartilage

Experimental-analytical approach to assessing mechanosensitive cartilage blood marker kinetics in healthy adults: dose-response relationship and interrelationship of nine candidate markers

“…cadence, duration) remain constant. As previously reported, we were able to modulate ambulatory load magnitude without relevant changes to loading frequency (cadence), duration, number of steps (constant walking speed across conditions), or joint kinematics in the current experimental setup 49 .…”

“…The current samples could be exploited in future analyses targeting epitopes and activity to offer further biological and mechanistic insight into the effect of well-defined mechanical stimuli on articular cartilage biology. Moreover, although we did measure the ground reaction force during all loading experiments confirming the desired loading or unloading 49 , we were not able to directly measure ambulatory load at the tissue level. In this study, we did not collect imaging data on the study participants to confirm joint health but relied on their self-reported data concerning no injury history.…”

“…The latter is in particular corroborated by correlations of the slopes across various markers. Using this experimental framework, we were able to modulate ambulatory load magnitude without any relevant changes in joint kinematics 49 . Although participants were instructed to refrain from demanding physical activity during the 24 h prior to and from any exercise on the day of the respective experiments, we did not monitor their activity.…”

“…For the increased load condition, participants wore an adjustable weight vest (CAPITAL SPORTS Monstervest 20 kg, Chal-Tec GmbH, Berlin, Germany) with adjustable weights (1 kg increments) corresponding to 20% BW that were secured in pockets attached to the front and back of the vest. The amount of unloading and additional loading during the experiment was confirmed by measurements of the instrumented treadmill as previously described 48,49 .…”

Experimental-analytical approach to assessing mechanosensitive cartilage blood marker kinetics in healthy adults: dose-response relationship and interrelationship of nine candidate markers

“…For the increased load condition, participants wore an adjustable weight vest (CAPITAL SPORTS Monstervest 20 kg, Chal-Tec GmbH, Berlin, Germany) with adjustable weights (1 kg increments) corresponding to 20% BW that were secured in pockets attached to the front and back of the vest. The amount of unloading and additional loading during the experiment was confirmed by measurements of the instrumented treadmill as previously described 45 , 46 .…”